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Thursday, March 13, 2008

I have my work cut out for me

I apologize in advance if this post seems a little discombobulated- but I'm a little tired today. My baby, who turns 1 at the end of the month, still wakes up one to two times a night to hit the local titty bar. Normally I don't mind this behavior because he's pretty much all business about it. He goes in, gets what he wants and then promptly leaves. After a quick diaper change, he's back in his crib and settling himself back to sleep to dream sweet baby dreams. I'm usually up for less than 20 minutes. I would be happy to continue along this path until he outgrew night nursing on his own, much like my first son did. However, he needs to be completely weaned by the end of June which is when I'm taking my oldest son to visit his Nona and Papa in Colorado for a week.

So, last night when he woke up for the second time, I guess I had a wild hair up my butt or something because I decided that in fact I had had enough. No more hitting the titty bar - he was just going to have to get back to sleep on his own. Looking back on that decision now I can see just how stupid it was. After TWO HOURS of listening to him howl and going into his room repeatedly to comfort him, I finally caved and nursed him back to sleep. I crawled into bed exhausted and feeling like a complete schmuck for putting my sweet little baby (and myself) through two hours of misery. I promised on the spot that I wouldn't do that to either one of us again without a solid plan of action - a plan that I spent the remaining hours of the night thinking about (another stupid move by the way). I won't bore you with the details of said plan, and I think I have most of it figured out. The one step that induces the most anxiety is the part when I stop nursing him at night. It's completely obvious that he wakes up expecting to nurse and of course when he doesn't get to then all hell breaks loose. I know he needs to learn how to fall asleep on his own, eventually without me even entering his room, but just how I get him to that point is my main concern. He is a very stubborn and persistent baby and he definitely proved that he can cry with the best of them. I don't want to go through a week, a few nights, or even a few hours of that kind of misery again (I know - I'm such a wimp!) I know weaning usually isn't a very pleasant experience for either party and any bits of advice you have to offer will be greatly appreciated. Hopefully by the time I leave in June, he'll be snoozing through the night with nary a peep. Dreams do come true.

2 comments:

I went through all of that with my daughter and at 2 years 7 months we weaned without incident. One day it was just over. Once all the molars were in, the need to nurse just sort of drifted away. Of course, I did my best to distract her from the ladies once she made it clear she was ready to move on, beverage wise.

"...to hit the local titty bar," is the funniest thing I have read all day! I love it! I hate when someone says something truly hilarious that I should have thought of first! Quit being funny; you're showing me up!

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I'm a full-time wife and mom, full-time worker bee. I have a dear husband, two amazing little boys, and a cranky, bitchy cat adn three fat fluffy chickens.I decided to start blogging about my kids and life in general because I wanted to do something new and Irish Dance lessons just wouldn't fit into my schedule. Blogging sounded easier and less stressful on my joints, so here I am. Hope you enjoy your visit and thanks for stopping by.